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sxc.hu | author: Adam Davis
Breast milk is best for a variety of reasons, but sometimes your baby weans early or the mother’s milk doesn’t get firmly established and supplementation is necessary. You resort to feeding your baby formula, and you are racked with guilt by this because the pressure to breastfeed is so strong. It is not so rare to have a baby exhibit colicky behavior when switching to formula, because it is much harder to digest. Perhaps you have already visited the pediatrician and he has suggested you switch to soy formula or Nutramigen. If you do this and your child continues to get sick– if switching brands and switching from milk-based, to soy-based, to Nutramigen does not solve the problem– then there may be a very good chance your baby is allergic to corn and/or MSG (Monosodium Glutamate). This proved to be true for our youngest child. In our case we saw complete resolution when we discontinued commercial formula and used organic whole milk.
This topic was born out of a strange coincidence that occurred in my house several months ago. My oldest child had suffered for quite some time with all kinds of illnesses, despite the fact that he was solely breastfed the first year of his life. I was incorrectly told once by a doctor that his colic was due to a milk allergy/intolerance. Armed with this information I dutifully kept him away from cow’s milk based products for the next two years. What I later learned when I had him properly tested for food allergies/intolerances (because the ill-health never really went away, just morphed from one form to another) is that he actually suffers from both a wheat and corn allergy, not milk.
At the same time I learned about my oldest son’s allergies, my youngest son, at about nine-months old, had just about weaned himself. I had begun to give him commercial milk-based formula and he abruptly got sick with an ear infection and bad case of eczema. (For various reasons, I don’t believe in giving soy-based formulas to infants.) The doctor then prescribed Nutramigen and this only complicated matters with his skin rash. I immediately stopped the formula and put him temporarily on a non-dairy milk while I waited for his system to clear. After about a week I saw improvement, but his skin did not completely clear up for almost three weeks. Once his skin looked great I reintroduced cow’s milk, this time I carefully selected organic whole milk. I then added my own vitamin and mineral supplements to his diet. He was able to tolerate this change with no problem. This is how I determined that my youngest son must also be allergic to corn or very sensitive to MSG. He now has a beautiful bum that is rash and eczema free. He sleeps and eats great and no longer cries or regularly spits up.
Many pediatricians recommend avoiding corn in your baby’s diet until he/she is at least one year old. But the irony of this is that commercial formula manufacturers regularly use corn starch, corn syrup solids, and even soy in all of their formulas, even their most hypoallergenic varieties. And to further complicate matters, corn is not recognized as a significant allergen and is not required to be listed on labels for people with multiple allergies. You will find warnings for wheat, gluten, nuts, milk, eggs, soy, shellfish, but not corn. Perhaps it is because corn makes up nearly 80% of our modern convenience food products. It is in nearly everything we buy to heat up and serve, nearly everything we use to flavor our foods. It is also in nearly all of our baby hygiene products and powders.
If you or anyone else in your family has severe allergies or intolerances to certain foods/chemicals then you should seriously consider the corn/MSG connection. The risk of your baby experiencing an allergic reaction or digestive intolerance to corn is greater if you have a family history of any type of allergy, especially skin rashes like eczema and histamine-type reactions.
Tags: Allergen, Allergic, Allergic Reaction, Allergy, Almond Milk, Baby, Breast Milk, Breastfeed, Colic, Corn, Corn Starch, Corn Syrup, Diet, Digestive Intolerance, Ear Infection, Eczema, Formula, Hypoallergenic, Infant, Intolerance, Milk, Milk-based, Mineral, Monosodium Glutamate, MSG, Nutramigen, Organic Whole Milk, Skin Rash, Soy, Soy-based, Supplement, Vitamin
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Meet the Author
We are the foster parents of a two month old, WONDERFUL little girl who is allergic to corn. We finally got her on Alimentum READY TO FEED and switched to corn-product free diapers. We also ditched the baby wipes and use only mild soaps with no corn deriviaties. She is doing so very well now!
Before we figured out the allergy, she was passing blood in her stool, had projectile vomitting, her skin was raw, cracked and oozing in some places and just before we switched to corn-free products, her face and diaper area became red and swollen.
Thank you for having the information about corn allergy on the internet!! It is very helpful!!
Here is another blog post that might help a few of you struggling to figure out what is wrong with your baby:
http://surefoodsliving.com/2007/05/07/corn-and-my-baby/#comment-165
There is a family at our church with a 5 or 6 mo. old baby who is allergic to just about everything – milk, soy, and now testing for a corn allergy. Mom has been breastfeeding and can now eat only bananas pretty much, as that is all the baby will tolerate. Mom is losing weight – she can only eat bananas and maybe 1 other thing – that’s it. Any ideas? What is this baby going to eat? Apparently, they’ve checked out all the forumulas, and they all contain something the baby is allergic to. This is a dire situation. Thank you for any insight you might have.
I realize you posted here quite a while ago, but I wanted to thank you for supporting this family through this struggle. We went through (and are still going through) a similar situation with my son. As the allergy issues escalated, we found that many people were uninformed about food allergies and as a result were sometimes extremely critical of the steps we had to take in restricting our son’s diet. Having a supportive community around you during this often scary process is priceless.
Sarah and Renee,
I have done a lot of reading up on multiple allergies in the past year. I would encourage anyone with a baby who has developed multiple allergies to screen for nutrient levels, particularly vitamin D, and also to look at HCL levels in the tummy. It is also important to test for overgrowth of candida albicans and bacterial strains in the gut. There are many factors that can ultimately lead to a hyperactive immune system and multiple allergies. We also began using digestive enzymes with our older son (at age 5). After two years avoiding allergens we have seen a slow and steady progress with him and a much higher tolerance level of the allergens when he does get accidental exposure. We also have had to limit our kids exposures to toxic chemicals. I try to use all natural cleaning materials, bath products, and washing machine detergent. We replaced our pillows with allergy friendly ones and have also slowly removed carpeting in favor of hardwood flooring. I always wash sheets in the hottest water and do so once a week at the very least. We had a great winter over here this year. Not a single case of the cold or flu and we traveled overseas. Normally we would have had two or three bouts of something.
How did you determine that it was definitly a corn allergy? My 5-month old has been on Alimentum RTF for several months. We recently tried the powdered form, and after 2 days, she developed watery eyes, sneezing, nasal congestion, and occasional red blotches on her face. I was wondering if this is a corn allergy or just a cold with bad timing.
Is she also eating any solid foods? Have you recently begun formula after having nursed exclusively for five months? Red blotchy cheeks can be a sign of an allergy/intolerance (as increased histamine production is a sure sign). It could also be a cold, and if it is it will clear up in 7-10 days. Our son’s sensitivity to formula showed up within a week of introduction and escalated quite rapidly for the three weeks he was on regular formula. I also thought it was a cold at first, but our son developed such a bad form of eczema all over his thighs, too. All formulas also contain soy, as far as I know, but do check to be sure. Our son is also very sensitive to soy products. A rash that worsens, develops into bad diarrhea, a red, blotchy bum that easily cracks and oozes, these are some signs of a food intolerance/allergy. To determine whether or not corn is really the culprit, I suggest you switch back to the only corn-free formula on the market (cow’s milk based) that Christina suggests–Alimentum ready to feed, or talk with your doctor about making your own trial formula at home that is corn-free and soy-free.
Hope this helps.
This information is invaluable to me, thank you! We just determined through a skin test that my 6 month old is allergic to corn as well as soy, eggs and peanuts. The allergy doctor is saying that corn syrup and corn maltodextrn are probably okay since it’s just the sugar extracted from the corn. I’m full of anxiety about changing his formula once again as Nutramigen is loaded with corn starch. Alimentum is corn free I gather? My story is the same… eczema, itchiness, sleepless nights all since I stopped nursing. I am accustomed to food avoidance since my 6 year old has a cows milk allergy… do I have to avoid every element of corn or is the sugar okay? And on that subject has it been concluded that is soy oil refined enough to permit as well for a soy allergy?
Nickie,
It is my experience that you have to remove it all. I have talked to countless allergy sufferers and countless parents and they overwhelmingly agree. Until the child has been completely rid of the food for quite some time (at least 6 months) you really don’t know how much it affects them. For example, we had to remove even citric acid, yet over time we realized that vanilla was okay as long as we baked it. Fresh vanilla bothers him. I would avoid corn sugars like the plague. I have yet to meet a corn allergy sufferer who could tolerate them. Many have said their doctor’s advice was the same as yours. In our case our baby had issues with soy as well. Remember, the formula is given to your baby as a staple food, every day, multiple times. Any allergen in the ingredients is not a good idea. In our case our son was nearly a year old when we switched to organic whole milk. There are countless websites offering homemade formulas available to choose from. You will need the advice of a nutritionist to determine what would work best for your baby. If you have introduced solids then you are already in a good position to giving her a balanced nutritional diet without using commercial formula.
This info is very valuable to me. I have been thrown in so many different routes by doctors and they are all obviously just trying to give me a quick answer about my 4 month old son. I was told that he has acid reflux and allergy to cows milk because of trouble breathing and feeding, as well as eczema. They told me to switch him to soy. I switched him to soy and the eczema he produced is now severe. They told me to get all types of creams that aren’t doing anything but making his situation worse. Turns out there is no acid reflux (oh, I was also told to feed him Mylanta before every feeding and start him on cereal at only two months old). I did not listen to the doctors because I know my son best. His breathing problems was caused from a clavical fracture during birth where the doctor told me it happens all the time and is normal. Not so, it caused him to get torticollis and no doctor would agree so I took it upon myself to do research and strengthen his neck muscles myself through therapy. Since I have done so (2 months later) his breathing prblems have diminished and my new pediatrician says, hey! I think your son my have had a slight case of torticollis!Wow. Anyway, I switched him to soy but his eczema keeps getting worse. I don’t trust the doctors, these days there are only a few who are actually “caring” for their patients. I looked for some corn free formulas but there is really nothing organic that I can feed him until he is 1 years old. Is there something out there for a 4 month old? If not, should I go back to milk based formula and give him something organic and natural to strengthen his immune and digestive system like something with fennel seeds since eczema is actually a problem with the immune system?
Gina,
I am sorry for the delayed response–
If you haven’t already discovered them, the Weston Price Foundation is a good resourse for homemade formula. http://www.westonaprice.org/children/index.html#fd
You can also check out Dr. Sears. He has a recipe as well. If cow’s milk is a problem too, you may find luck with goat milk. It is closer than cow’s milk to breast milk and easier to digest. Goat milk is laking vital nutrients and is not recommended as a stand alone for formula replacement. I’ve never given formula to an infant so young so I can’t advise you from personal experience. Hopefully this will help you as you research more. Best of luck.
Thanks to this website I’ve found the answer for my son who’s now been fed the homemade formula on the West A. Price website for almost 4 months. He has a confirmed corn, egg, soy & peanut allergy and I had the same experience with skin and vommitting. I would encourage any parent to consider homemade formula before commercial formula if you’re not able to nurse. He and his twin sister are so chubby now with the clearest skin ever. I never thought it would happen a few months ago! My doctor was also very apathetic about my concerns so I say go with your parental instincts!
Where can I find corn-product free diapers? Thanks!
Hi Amy!
Corn-Free foods blogspot lists Pampers Diapers as corn-free (company claim). I suggest you call Pampers yourself to verify the info because it is old info. Huggies Extra Sensitive Wipes are also listed as corn free there too. If your baby is really super sensitive you may want to consider cloth diapers as another alternative.
Hope this helps!
This is such a great article to post. I wish I had found articles like this 2 1/2 years ago when we were trying to figure out a formula for our daughter (she is adopted so breast feeding was never an option). She threw up all the time, had bad rashes, etc. We went from milk to soy to alimentum (powder form of all of these) and she didn’t get better with any of them and the alimentum was so expensive that we just went back to milk (with the doctor’s okay). I couldn’t get a doctor (we saw multiple doctors) to say she was allergic to milk and honestly didn’t know what to do. They would say, most babies are not allergic to food, but I would think, what if MY baby IS!!!! So the poor thing suffered for a year until she had a really bad reaction to eggs at 1 year old and I had the allergist test her for milk and soy and sure enough she was allergic to both. Then we found out at 2 years old that she is allergic to corn and now the whole formula problem makes perfect sense to me!
So anyway, thanks for the post, hopefully it will help young mothers like me that trust the doctors and make them realize that sometimes you have to go with your gut because I knew something was wrong but didn’t know what to do!
My 5 mos baby is suffering terribly from a bad case of eczema. I took him to an allergist who did a skin test and said he was allergic to milk but not corn or soy. Unfortunately, I disagree. I do believe he has an allergy to corn. Is it possible to test negative on the skin test and still have a corn allergy? My baby is on Neocate, which is an amino-acid based formula (no milk or soy), but lots of corn syrup. The allergist suggested that the eczema was probably something else.
I’ve noticed that any creams that contain corn irritate his skin more. The allergist said that corn allergys are extremely rare in children. Any suggestions? Should I be looking into making my own formula?
Martha,
I started my third baby on formula at about 8 mos. By the time we decided to discontinue the allergy-friendly version three weeks later he had a bloody bum, was on antibiotics for a severe ear infection, and had eczema on his thighs. I believe alimentum ready to feed is corn free, but we never used it. We chose to avoid both soy and corn and went directly to using organic milk. (Goat milk may be an option) You should know that milk is not high enough in B-vitamins and a proper and safe multi-vitamin should be added, or you should be pureeing choice foods high in the B’s like bananas. Our son’s bum and eczema cleared up beautifully and he has been very healthy since (one additional ear infection a year later). Now he is almost 2 1/2 and we have not had any major health issues with him. I have heard from a few moms that have commented about this article both publicly and privately who have gone to http://www.westonaprice.org/children/formula-faqs.html
and have successfully begun making their own formulas for their babies. We did not do that as our son was eating solid foods at the time when we made the switch (9 mos old), but I know I would have done anything to help him get healthy if he had been younger with the same symptoms. As far as not having a skin allergy to corn but having a delayed food intolerance to it, I say yes, that is definitely possible. We found a nice product that really helped with the eczema because it was stubborn and took time to get rid of, even after we got him off of the formula: Wiseways Herbals: Black Walnut Tea Tree Salve: http://wiseways.com. Believe me, we had tried everything before that and everything made him worse, to the point where he had a bloody rash halfway up his back. My neighbor who suffers from psoriasis told me that was what it looked like. I instinctively knew that the lotion was making him worse so I just stopped it and started using the salve (which contains only olive oil, tea tree oil, beeswax, and herbs.)
Hello ladies. got to talk to someone.. my baby girl is 6 months now. and i have been breast pumping 24/7 since day one . omg i had a very scary labor. lost alot of blood. didnt see or hold her for the first 3 days… and i was very tired of pumping. when LO was 2 months we decided to give her formula. and SHE GOT ALLERGIES REALLY BAD, after like 5 mins after she ate the formula she got swallen ears, swallen face and could not breath. we had to call the ER> and he stomack was smallen as well and very rad. and …i got scared. and my breast milk was gone. i could only pump 10 ml . yes 10 ml.. it was horrible couple days.. she would cry all night. cause she was hungry.. it was crazy. my heart was braking in peaces..( anyways.. and its been 6 months now. and i am still pumpin and got no choice… even if i was giving her only BM she would have this very red and dry spot on her chick. that doesnt go away..and now i had to give her formula again .cause i am in pain. my breast’s are LUMPY and no matter what i did or do they dont go away. i am LOST> anyone had this kind of issue plz HELP> talk to me.. by the way .right now she has SIMILAC ALIMENTUM> and still gets a very bad rash.. HELP
we have tryed already;;Similac Advenced(very bad reaction)
Similac Insomil Soy based, DIDnt work.
Similac Alimentum (current one) and NO relife from this one either. she gets a rash. i am lost and scared.. please advice!
Hi Tasha,
Wow, you’re one tough mama. Most moms would give up breast feeding or pumping by now. After reading your comment something jumped out at me.
I learned something after my first baby (which I had a hard time pumping for). Did you know that your nipples need to be properly sized for a pump much like your breasts are sized for a bra? An improper pump will cause plugged ducts and loads of pain while pumping and could lead to an infection called mastitis.
See: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/mastitis.html#sideeffect
The best way to unplug your ducts is to nurse your baby constantly for about 3 days. This will also help your body to produce more milk. Stress will cause your milk to dry up and so will dehydration. Your body is designed to produce the right amount of milk for your baby granted the right environment is there– the baby needs to be latched on correctly and be able to suckle well, you need to have a healthy diet and you should drink plenty of water. You also need to be relaxed and not stressed out.
Many moms supplement with formula when they go through dry spells. Sometimes this works out well and sometimes it backfires (because if they don’t try to pump while they supplement then their body produces less and less milk over time until they dry out.)
From what you mentioned about the formulas you have tried it looks like you are using formulas that all contain corn in them. If you feel that you would be unable to nurse and need to supplement but are afraid to use a standard formula you could look into making a homemade formula and supplementing your baby’s diet with solids (as she is six months old now). Essential nutrients are important for proper brain development and general health, so you need to be aware of what you are feeding your baby and what nutrients are in those foods/formulas.
I hope this helps. There are lots of breastfeeding groups that could be helpful to you, and some in your area. I used one for my third baby when we had trouble getting him to latch on well and suckle after having been put on formula for a week when he was 14 days old. So I understand completely what it is like dealing with a lack of supply all the time and trying to fatten up your baby!
Here is a link to the La Leche league international:
http://www.llli.org/resources.html
If you search their website you will find info on local chapters near you. In our case I found a chapter that meets at my local hospital only a mile away!
Hi! All of this information has been great – thank you! Regarding formulas. I have come across a fantastic formula that many moms don’t know about and it’s Nature’s One, Baby Only “toddler” formula. Don’t get thrown by “toddler”formula. When you go to their website, they explain why it’s labeled toddler and it’s because they fully endorse breastfeeding first and foremost. However, when you compare it’s label to all other formulas (organic and nonorganic) the ingredients and levels of ingredients are the same….except….they don’t add additional lactose as their carbohydrate AND they don’t add sugar (sucrose…like all Similac formulas) AND NO corn or corn derivatives! Their carbohydrate comes from brown rice syrup – which is EXACTLY why I used it for my daughter. My newborn son however has been diagnosed with a milk allergy. (I will now be looking further into his “allergy” now that I’ve read about a corn allergy). And the reason why is because he’s currently on Nutramigen and while it cleared the rough patch on his cheek and turned his hard, green BM’s into “yellowish/brown cake batter”, he’s gotten fussier! He’s also on Prevacid full strength and still fussy as in screaming anywhere from 45 minutes to hours. Also the vomitting stopped. However, I don’t know if that was due to switching to Nutramigen or the addition of Prevacid
Back to the Nature’s One, Baby Only formula – when I chose this formula for my daughter who is now 21 months old, I chose it based on the above…I wasn’t aware of corn allergies at the time, but the words “corn syrup solids” was enough for me to stay away! Plus, it’s ridiculous that sugar is added to formulas as well (Similac). Even Earth’s Best Organic Formula adds additional lactose and uses “organic corn syrup solids”.
Plus, not only is Nature’s One, Baby Only formula organic, it goes so much further than that. They derive their DHA/ARA from egg phospholipids which comes from the egg yolk. Egg allergies are due to the intolerance of the protein which comes from the egg white. Below is from their website (TONS of great info on their site by the way):
“In 2001, US infant formula manufacturers began adding a novel source of DHA and ARA that is manufactured by Martek Biosciences Corp. This DHA is derived from strains of algae; the ARA is manufactured using a non-toxigenic soil fungus. The following is the manufacturing process described by Martek: “The oil is then separated from the dried biomass by hexane extraction and centrifugation and/or filtration, followed by winterization. The hexane phase undergoes additional centrifugation/filtration to remove solids then the winterized oil is heated and treated with acid. Subsequently, the oil is treated with caustic, centrifuged, bleached and deodorized.” 1
“The DHA and ARA in Baby’s Only Essentials® are naturally derived from egg phospholipids (egg yolk) using a gentle aqueous (water) process. Egg phospholipids contain Choline, an important nutrient needed for the production of neurotransmitters and development of the memory center in the brain. Egg phospholipids also contain cholesterol, used by the body to manufacture Vitamin D, various needed hormones and bile acid. Cholesterol is also an important component in cell membranes. Baby’s Only Essentials® DHA & ARA is a well understood and safe source of DHA and ARA.”
“Egg yolk phospholipid is unique in that it is the only DHA and ARA source containing cholesterol, also present in breast milk, which is believed to assist the liver in normal cholesterol production as an infant matures. Egg phospholipid also contains Choline, an important nutrient needed for the production of neurotransmitters and development of the memory center in the brain”
I hope this helps!
Brandi
This is the formula that we used to diagnose our corn allergy! But now I can’t get it at any of the Whole Foods in the Dallas Area! They say that the company isn’t shipping. Does anyone know?
My 7 week old son is allergic to corn. He also has an immune deficiency. So what can I give him in the future for fever, cold…..Everything like Tylenol, Motrin, cold meds all contain derivatives of corn???????
Hi,
Sorry for the delayed response. I was on holidays at the time of your posting. Our son’s corn allergies are not anaphylactic and so we will give him Benadryl dye-free capsules when needed (they contain sorbitol, a corn-based sweetener). He has never gotten more than one a day. I do know a mom that has medications compounded for her daughter. It is very expensive though. There are different pharmaceutical labs in the U.S. that will do this with a doc’s script. I think she said that the compounded Benadryl was something like $40. I am also afraid to medicate my corn allergic son and now I tend to rely quite a bit on homeopathy as a result. There is one antibiotic that is corn free and my son has been prescribed it. It is rare and we had to wait an extra 24 hours just to get it in at our Pharmacy.
See our forum thread on medications for more info…. http://healthy-family.org/forum/index.php/topic,198.0.html
Caryn:
Hello, I was really pleased to find your article ” If Your Baby Can’t Tolerate Milk, Soy, or Hypoallergenic Formula it may be a Corn Allergy”.
When my son was born I started breastfeeding right away and was so excited about the connection with him! Just 24 hours after he was born the nurses told me he was underweight and needed supplementation. They started him on Similac. I Had to supp. with every feeding because I never produced enough milk. Long story but I tried everything for 8 weeks and the painful decision to quit breastfeeding was made. At about 10 weeks he started having rashes and eczema-like dryness. Our pediatrician suggested trying diff. formulas – we tried EVERY SINGLE ONE! We have done blood testing to find out if he has food allergies but nothing has come up in the results. He has been to the hospital twice and been put on 2 rounds of steroids and steroid creams with no results.
My question to you is (since you have been there) how early can babies start on cow’s milk (we would do organic) and what vitamins need to be added?
Any help is so appreciated! I am willing to do anything to get his skin to clear up!
Thanks!
Kat
Caryn:
I didn’t realize there were so many answers to my questions above.
You must be a busy person – no need to answer my questions… I think I have all the answers for now. I hope the next thing I try works!
Thanks so much for the article!
Kat
Hi my daughter is seven and a half months old and we have been dealing with diarrhea, vomiting, rash(bum and face), coughing, wheezing, sneezing, and crankiness now since the beginning of Dec. ‘08. I have anxiety through the roof!! We switched her from milk based formula to soy based (I was breast feeding at the time) She seemed fine for a few days and then all of the symptoms came back. I wasn’t sure if it was the breast(I eat quite a bit of dairy) or soy so I took her off of both and was recommended that I put her on the nutrimigen. Again symptoms subsided a few days and then got worse. She ended up with projectile vomiting and admitted to the hospital. While there she was only on water and pedialyte. All of the symptoms subsided. Before we were able to leave they recommended we try the soy formula. She didn’t seem to react until about two days ago and now the symptoms are all back. This evening i picked up the alimentum but was wondering what i should do if symptoms continue to persist. We are unable to get into see a pediatrician until the 29th of this month…HELP! Can I give fortified rice milk if she is eating other foods?
Hi! I feel for you because I went through the exact same thing with my son…but at the time he was a month old. After seeing all sorts of doctors and trying both nutramigen and ailementum, I decided to go the path of homemade baby formula (receipt from westonaprice.org) and my son is absolutely thriving! No more congestion, no more coughing or wheezing. No more projectile vomitting or reflux. I took him off prevacid about 3 days into him being on the homemade formula. And, his poops are loose and mustard color…not watery brown from the above formulas. He’s no longer fussy…at all! Homemade baby formula is controversial, but I didn’t care. In my heart, it totally made since to me. The formula is based on raw milk along with all the other essentials and they have a goat milk version. My son does great on both. I was nervous at first, but when I saw how he responded to it, I am absolutely at peace with my decision. Hope this helps! Just so you know, if you choose to share this with your pediatrician, he/she will probably look at you like you grew 3 heads and will warn you not to do it. All I can say is at least go to the Weston A Price website and research it yourself.
NO! Rice milk is not enough to nourish a 7-month old!
Look at Caryn’s link above in the article for homemade formula. That is one option I chose for my twins at 6 months old (when I could nurse no longer) who were both allergic to corn& soy.
It takes a lot of reading& conviction for the health of your baby. It was so well worth it for me and such a huge relief when the rashes, vomitting& sleepless nights went away.
I can give you many helpful tips should you decide to go that route.
The Weston Price site has many other alarming and fascinating articles on soy, the nourishing of your baby& nutrition in general. I stumbled upon it by the links in this article and boy am I glad I did!
Wish you well
Nickie
Hi Karissa,
I’m really sorry you have to go through all this.
I would stay away from rice milk only because I would be afraid that it would constipate your little one (rice is known to do that, esp. if you are giving 6 bottles of it a day). At the time we were going through all of our struggles with our little guy the naturopath suggested Almond milk. That is what we did, but only for the few weeks until his little body healed (his bum was BLOODY). I researched about almond milk since then and now I have a different opinion about giving it to a baby. Neither rice milk or almond milk have the essential nutrients needed for a baby’s brain development or nutritional needs.
As soon as our son’s bum healed we switched to organic milk and added our own vitamin/nutrient enrichments to his diet. (Goat milk may be an option, it does not have folic acid or B12, but is fairly close to breast milk and is easier to digest than cow’s milk). You are lucky your little one can eat solid foods, as this will make things easier for you.
Read through the comments on this thread, too. You will find that there are other moms that have made successful changes for their babies. A good allergy test would be very beneficial, too and may help you figure out what kind of nutritive drink you be providing her. That will hopefully make you feel a bit better. And if it is possible to get the doctor to test her for lactose intolerance that could help as well.
Hello – I am very happy to have found this forum. I am hoping you can help me. My 5th child is a 4-month-old with severe eczema and seborrheic dermatitis. Her skin feels like leather and there is blood onher sheets. Breastfeeding has always been difficult, and despite my best efforts, she is now completely weaned. While breastfeeding, I had to avoid certain foods or she had terrible colic. These included all dairy, eggs, corn, garlic, etc. She was on Isomil and developed terrible acid reflux, to the point that she wouldn’t eat because of the acid that came up in her throat and burned. So she went on Prilosec. Since corn even through breastmilk affected her, I couldn’t imagine the corn syrup in formula was good for her. I found Nature’s One Organic Soy Formula and she is a different baby! Now she guzzles this formula, trying to make up for all the food she didn’t eat for her first 3 months. So her digestive system is doing well – however her skin is terrible! She itches horribly. I noticed her eczema worsened when I gave her regular Benadryl, so I switched to dye-free. It seems she is reacting to that too. I just read here that sorbitol is corn based. Is there any Benadryl without corn? Can I divide up the powder from a capsule into the right dosage and put it in her bottle? Where can I find a list of products that contain corn i.e. sorbitol, modified food starch, what else??? I noticed with my other kids that I could only use Pampers. I read here that they are corn-free. Who knew? Anyway, I am suspecting that the soy is affecting her skin. I haven’t taken her to an allergist but will soon. I have a sample of Natures One Lactose Free Organic Formula containing milk protein. I think I’d like to try it, but am afraid to because she reacted with terrible colic when milk or cheese came through breastmilk. Does anyone have any experience with this? Could the fact that it is organic make all the difference? If she can’t tolerate it, I am willing to try one of the homemade formulas mentioned. The liver-based formula contains whey, though. It’s wonderful to “talk” with those who understand!
Ruth,
I have never tried Benadryl on the boys as infants. All over-the-counter Benadryl have corn derivatives as far as I know. I do know of a mother that gets hers compounded by a pharmacy to be corn-free and she says it costs over $40, so it is very expensive. In my experience the best way to combat the eczema is to find out what the allergies are. If you can’t afford allergy testing you could try one of the homemade formulas that are soy-free. This may offer some relief. My youngest was and still is allergic to soy. Soy causes him to get eczema pretty bad. As a matter of fact, he has been eczema free for two years, but just last week ate a gluten-free bun meant for his brother– a bun made with soy flour– and now has a light case of eczema again on his thighs. I have found that in my sons’ cases and also with my niece, that their skin is so sensitive that it requires very mild products. Are you certain you are not also dealing with thrush in the diaper area? What does your doctor think? One product that I found (and believe me I have tried everything, even expensive doctor prescribed creams) was an all organic product by WiseWays Herbals called
Black Walnut Tea Tree Salve. My sister-in-law has also tried it and found that it worked beautifully when all other products seemed to aggravate her daughter’s bottom. The most important thing to do, though, is to try and remove whatever it is that is causing the allergic reaction. My youngest had a bloody butt, so bad that my neighbor with psoriasis said it looked like her skin does when it is flaring up. When I changed his diet he recovered beautifully.
I also found an interesting study that showed probiotics might help with severe eczema. You may want to print that out and bring it to the doctor. Whole Foods does sell a baby probiotic in powder form. We did give that to our youngest after we weaned him.
Hi! I loved the Nature’s One formula for my daughter, however, my son was/is a different story…milk allergy, skin rash, fussiness, reflux, projectile vommiting etc…the homemade baby formula from Weston A Price foundation has worked wonderfully for him. He can do the raw milk based formula but get pretty bad congestion and a wheezing cough, but the other mentioned above is non-existent. So, right now he’s on the goat milk receipt and is doing AWESOME! I don’t add the liver component, but I follow every other component and I had raw colostrum from a cow to it and he does just fine – hope this helps!
Thank you all so much for your replies. This forum has been extremely helpful to me. In the last few days, with your help, I have found that my baby is hyper-sensitive to corn. A website I found that has been helpful is http://www.cornallergens.com/ My one other piece of advice for someone dealing with allergies is that if it seems that there is an allergy to some type of produce, try organic. There are anti-fungal and pesticide chemicals on many foods from potatoes to grapes to oranges squeezed for juice, etc. that can cause reactions.
Ruth,
I am so happy for you that you have figured out the culprit. That will give you a lot of relief and hopefully your baby will have a pretty fast recovery. Be careful with salts, citric acid, and vanilla flavoring. These are big triggers for my son. (Table salt is made with maltodextrin, a corn derived product). Also, many fresh fruits are sprayed with a corn-based wax– apples, for instance, to make them look pretty. Many plastic water bottles and some produce packaging is made from corn as well. Also, some folks have difficulty with porks, chickens, and beef that are fed a corn-based diet. We are fortunate that our son’s condition isn’t so severe. We do get organic meat when possible (but not 100% of the time) and try to buy natural meats that are fed a vegetarian diet (which includes corn, but not exclusively corn). All our eggs are free range and organic. The only juice we buy is Simply Apple and Simply Orange. Any other kind of juice will give my son a reaction– I have determined it has to be the citric acid. Solid foods are down the road for you, but these are important things to know in advance. Enjoy Life has some products that are corn free and the kids like them. They have told me that their vanilla is safe. I love Jenny Connors site, cornallergens.com. It is where I got my start a couple of years ago when my son was first diagnosed. She has wonderful information available for folks.
My son always did very poorly with petroleum based products before he was diagnosed. Seems like anything I tried for his bottom always flared it up. So products really do need to be scrutinized if you have a baby with a corn allergy. Jenny’s site comes in very handy for label learning.
I am so glad I found another mom(s) that are going/went through the same thing I am dealing with! I have also done the reflux rollercoaster, mspi, formula roulette life with BOTH babies. Currently my 5 mo. old daughter is on compounded prilosec and alimentum rtf but still having some issues. When I finally found the corn connection with nutramigen and other formulas, her Dr.’s looked at me like I was crazy! Even the GI at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital claimed she never heard of this scenerio! I am currently looking for peer reviewed research to show them so they can consider this with future patients. I have found some, but if you have anything you could email me, I would GREATLY appreciate it. THANK YOU!!!!
Heather,
Since I first posted a month ago, I’ve done a lot of research and made some progress on how to help my baby. One thing I discovered is that even compounded PPIs contain corn-derivatives. My baby was reacting to the mannitol in her prilosec. The dr. confirmed that there was no way to get this med in a corn-free form. After a couple of tries, I was able to get her off of it by getting all traces of corn out of her diet (i.e. Benadryl, probiotics) and switching to Original Milk of Magnesia. Her skin cleared up considerably. Also, I found a corn-free, milk-free, soy-free product available through a professional nutritionist who helped me come up with a formula for my baby. The only problem with it is that the product is not supposed to be for babies under 1, but right now, I’m thrilled that her skin totally cleared up in the last three days! I’d love to share some links, but not sure how to e-mail you.
Caryn,
I’d really like to get my baby on a homemade meat broth formula. I’ve made broth after broth with just meat and water, but my baby always gets an itchy rash on her neck, head, feet and thighs. My last broth was with 100% grass-fed lamb so I’m mystified. Other than the itching, she seems to really benefit from the broth – it helps her digestion, calms her and she sleeps better when she gets even a little bit. Any thoughts on this? (She is 5 mo. today.)
Ruth,
I sent you an email. If you didn’t get it in your inbox check your spam folder. If it’s not there, post back here to let me know.
I am so glad I found this blog. My 6 month old boy has had a very bacd case of eczema on this cheeks since he’s been 2 months which also later appeared in a milder version on his arms and legs. We have seen 5 different doctors, and tried every formula there is. Alimentum helped for about a week but then the rash got worse. One of doctors, a pediatric GI specialist, diagnosted him with an allergy to cow’s milk and put him on Neocate. After a month there was no significant improvement. By that time I was already introducing some solids and even though I followed the 4 day rule, I was beginning to think that he was also reacting to some of the foods.
It has been a very difficult 4 months. Like some of you mentioned it was a bloody mess at times as he would scratch open his skin with blood all over his sheets. Last week we went to see a natural practitioner. He said to get him off the formula that day! He recommended goat’s milk, home made cereals, broths, puree chicken, some liver, etc., no processed baby food whatsoever. It’s been 4 days now and his is doing so much better. I am including some supplements as well since goat’s milk is deficient in folic acid and vitamin B12 (but I am hoping most of these will come from foods). I have also read Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and referenced the Weston Price website for homemade formula.
I found this blog because I suspect that his main allergen is corn and/or soy (oil). It’s the only thing that seems to be present in all formulas. I hope he will continue to get better. One other thing I haven’t mentioned, he also has nasal congestion. I hope it will go away with time as well. Any ideas if it’s from the same allergen as the eczema? I don’t really even know what he is reacting to and when I asked about testing, one of the doctors said it is only done at 12 months.
Yelena,
Sounds like you are on the right track! Kudos for taking your baby to a natural practitioner.
My baby is allergic to milk + soy and hyper-sensitive to corn, but the IgE allergy blood tests all came back negative. I found that if I gave my daughter goat milk from a goat that had eaten corn, she had the same reaction as she did to other corn derivatives. I found someone who is feeding a goat without corn just for us and will get the milk on Friday. I hope it works! As far as the congestion, with my baby, it can be related to moving air like a fan or white noise machine. Another cause is if she spits up so that it comes up towards her nose from her throat.
What are you using for vitamin supplements? I’m looking for something. My heart goes out to you – I know how rough it can be! Hang in there!
Ruth
I bought Baby Plex.
http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=3984
It has an orange flavor and says it does not contain: yeast, wheat, corn, soy and milk. One of the main ingredients is glycerin, and according to my friend in the flavor industry, could have residual corn byproducts for the hyper-sensitive. It has to do with how glycerin is made. It technically doesn’t have any corn in it, but corn alcohol can be part of the process to create it and then is ‘evaporated’ out of the product and glycerin remains. Corn alcohol is not always used to create glycerin but is often used.
We no longer use this product because the babies are older but we were successful with it for a couple years.
Here is a nice link with good information and recommendations for a multivitamin supplement: http://www.rockwellnutrition.com/Can-I-use-Goat-Milk-instead-of-infant-formula_ep_92-1.html.
I currently add probiotics, cod liver oil, coconut oil, olive oil to the goat milk. Also I feed him a version of the liver formula. I braised liver in homemade chicken broth and mashed it. This supplements for the lack of folate and vitamin B12. Another good source of vitamins is avocado. I am also looking into making sure he gets enough vitamin c. What foods can I give him that are high in vitamin c and appropriate for a 6 month old?
Sweet potatoes!!!!
My guys loved them!
If your baby has a milk allergy and you are breastfeeding, it’s important to restrict the amount of commercial milk based formula products (as mentioned in article), because the milk protein that’s causing the allergic reaction can cross into your breast milk, and causing food allergies to baby and children.
You may want to talk to a dietician about finding alternative sources of calcium and other vital nutrients to replace what you were getting from dairy products or milk based formula for your baby.
My son is 8 months old and we have been going through a terrible time with his eating. Through an elimination diet we figured out he is allergic / intolerant of dairy, soy, gluten and corn. Blood tests and skin tests for allergies came back negative though. But the allergy specialist said it could be an intolerance like lactose intolerance that wouldn’t show up on a skin / blood test. I am breast feeding. We have tried all the formulas, even the hypo allergenic ones still have the corn syrup solids in them. I am concerned about his lack of weight gain. We are going to the GI tomorrow for the first time. Per the previous posts, will have doctor check for nutrient levels, HCL, overgrowth of Candida Albicans and bacteria strains in gut. Can anyone think of anything else I should have them check for? Also, I have tried drinking the raw milk myself and then nursing my son and he gets really gassy / fussy. Does anyone know if the addition of the lactose in the raw milk formula helps break down the milk protiens? Tried the meat formula in his rice cereal but he would have none of it. Thank you!
My son was colicky from birth and quite jaundiced. Our ped originally took me off of all dairy products when he was about six weeks old. By eight weeks the colic was over. I also had to avoid all formula milk. We were eventually successful with fresh goat milk on the rare occasion when I couldn’t feed him (I was out and daddy was caring for him) and there wasn’t any pumped milk available. Goat milk also has lactose…..
Later when I weaned him and started him on regular solids– bread products, etc…. (after 12 mos) he began to get frequently sick with all kinds of infections. We did an IgG test which revealed a wheat, gluten, corn intolerance when he was 3 1/2 (so our knowledge on these things would have really benefited him if we had known what to look for when he was 8 mos old!)
We never used raw milk but we do use Kefir regularly (which is cultured). I read that Bifidus Longum is supposed to be a good strain for folks with Celiac so I started using it. I think this is what really helped our son’s gut balance out after we went gluten free for him.
In my experience with the diet it was a good few months before our son started showing obvious signs of healing (about 9 mos). He was much older (4), so maybe that is why the healing took so long. I have an aunt with Celiac and for her after a year she still has health issues but she has improved greatly.
I know that for her and also for my son that digestive enzymes were necessary in the beginning to help aid the body in absorption. I don’t know if they are safe or appropriate at 8 mos old. Enzymes will help break down the food. Our bodies produce them but when there is a digestive problem our body stops doing so properly. Some folks use them temporarily and others rely on them for life.
How is your milk supply? My doc had me drinking 32 oz of water a day and I used a double pump to build up supply. My first little guy used to have green gassy movements. I was told it was from having too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk. They told me to pump a little before his feeding or to just feed him on one side per feeding. My other two babies did not have that problem at all.
Are you eating a lot of protein rich foods? Fatty foods? This could also help with fat content of your milk. Are you avoiding gluten too? I read extensively about that because my youngest was nursing when my oldest was dxd. There are mixed reports about gluten in the milk. I went gluten free myself.
Instead of the meat broth you may want to try coconut milk or almond milk. (Trader Joe’s has a good brand that does not have chemicals in it). Be careful to find a good brand of almond milk (or you can make it yourself with a blender and a cheesecloth). This might be a way to get more calories into him. My kids love a rice pudding I make with coconut milk and pudding rice.
Great Plains Laboratories has a good test if you want to check them out. It is called an Organic Acid Test. It checks for candida, bacteria, and nutrient levels (will show if there is low glutathione levels.)
Hi Caryn,
Thanks for all your information and for this website. You really, really helped me out with my baby with the kefir milk suggestion.
I am trying to find a infant vitamin drops for my 1 yr old that is corn free, gluten free, dairy free, soy free. Any suggestions?
Thank you!
To K: my son has a cow milk allergy and he is now a little over 9 months old and has been on the goat milk baby formula from Weston A Price since he was 3 months old and is doing awesome! I add the goat kefir and at one point I was adding the raw colostrum (from cow) and he did totally fine with that…I narrowed it down to the casein protein that he has a problem with….so he does fine with goat milk because it’s low in casein and high in whey and the raw cow colostrum is just that which is why he can tolerate that and not cow milk. Also, I have a gal I work with and I convinced her that her son has a milk allergy and that he doesn’t have “reflux” for “some unexplained reason” and he doesn’t have asthma like her pediatrician told her!!! So frustrating. Anyhoo – I made a batch of the formula for her and he improved IMMEDIATELY! No more projectile vomiting and no more hard time breathing!
I am curious, did you add the raw chicken liver that has been frozen for 14 days to the goat milk formula?
Hello Caryn,
I realize you wrote and posted this quite some time ago–but I just wanted to say thank you for what you’ve shared. I just had twinfants who are now three months old, and we’ve struggled tremendously trying to figure out why they are so fussy/colicky. I just wouldn’t accept that my babies were “fussy” for no reason–and when I found this article about it being a corn allergy–I immediately tested the Alimentum Ready to Feed. What we saw was a complete 180 in my son, who has now become a happy, relatively calm baby.
Although both my son and daughter have true reflux, the corn derivatives within the zillions of formula we’ve tried were certainly impacting their happiness and health. I cannot thank you enough for posting this, as I wouldn’t have thought of it on my own.
Thank you so very much!
Erin S.
Hi,
My little 1 yr old daughter cannot eat any babyfood fruit such as apple, pear, or even squash without developing red ezcema imflamed looking cheeks. Through a process of elimination I found that she can eat banana, pea, green beans and prunes with no ill effects. I believe it is the citric acid or something. Anyone have any experience with this problem and what to do to give her some fruits?
Catherine,
My hunch is that she may have a salicylate sensitivity. Citric acid can be made from corn. So that could be an issue too, but apples, pears, and sweet potatoes are high in salicylates.
Caryn, thanks for your response. I took her to dermatologist and allergist who both had no idea about the red cheek eczema. After a grueling skin test at 10 months old for like 12 things including soy, dairy, squash, berries etc. they said she was allergic to nothing at all. Well I am positive she had been allergic to dairy and soy and had poor results when I last tried to introduce a regular milk based formula gradually at about 7 months old, so we continued with the Nutramigen AA which she did great on (leaving me pretty positive she has no corn sensitivity or she’d have gone crazy on it) At age 1 yr she can now drink milk based formula with no problems so she must have outgrown the dairy/soy thing. I took away all apple, pear, squash, sweet potato and other fruit baby food for months at a time other than prune and banana and every time I try to reintroduce a jar or two she gets the red dry splotches on her cheeks within hours. She is finally able to tolerate maybe one jar or two per week of squash or apple yogurt without getting too red. What are salicyclates (is that like salicylic acid face wash/acne products?) and is this something she will outgrow? In the meantime what fruits might I feed her? Are berries ok? She refuses to eat hardly anything I guess due to having been exposed to only like 3 or 4 foods for the last several months and her taste buds are stunted
We are struggling to find things she’ll eat that don’t cause the face rash in the fruit family.
While we’re at it, my older son who is 4.5 and had no allergies as a baby other than a mild case of the red cheek ezcema when he ate lots citrus/red and orange colored fruits and veggies that he outgrew by about age 3, has been having a health problem we can’t get to the bottom of and I am wondering if its food related. He has developed over the last 6-9 months dark purplish bags under his eyes that make him look really sickly and haggard even though he sleeps 12 hrs a night and sporadic bad heachaches which sometimes cause him to vomit. We can’t see a correlation to food or anything with the headaches and he has been tested extensively with bloodwork, CT scan and MRI bc of course the docs were worried he had some brain tumor. All tests were clean and they said maybe he has migraines which my husband and I don’t fully believe bc we still want to know why he has the dark bags under his eyes. I took away dairy recently for a week or so and there was no improvement so I figured it wasn’t that. He is otherwise a vigorous, healthy boy in general who eats a balanced diet. We try to eat organic as much as possible. Anyone have any ideas about headache/vomiting and dark circles under eyes in child?
Catherine,
Salicylates are found in a variety of foods. Here is a food guide for you to check out: http://salicylatesensitivity.com/food-guide
It may be the puzzle piece you’ve been looking for. I think certain food intolerances run in families, especially for something like gluten intolerance.
Salicylate sensitivities are common enough. As a matter of fact, it is a cause for ADHD for some children and eliminating food high in salicylates along with avoiding artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives does wonders for some kids diagnosed with ADHD. In our case my son’s corn allergy and gluten intolerance were also major factors.
Headaches may be due to artificial colors or flavoring in the food or it could be an actual food allergy. For example, MSG is a real problem for some. Aspartame is another magilla. It is hard to know without testing, but an elimination diet could also help you figure it out. We saw dark circles that never went away with our oldest son when he was first diagnosed. We used an IgG delayed food intolerance test to determine what was bothering him. He no longer has dark circles.
Oh MY!!! This could be whats causing issues in all my children! My father has struggled most of his adult life with chronic sinus infections, stomach pain, migraines, rashes, trouble concentrating and been to a ton of doctors. He always feels terrible and I think he may have this allergy and passed it down to my kids. He says if he drinks wine his stomach hurts horribly and eats many of these foods and uses a lot of facial products! I can’t believe no one ever told me of this. What would I ask to test for with the IgG test specifically and what was it particularly causing your son’s eyes to be dark? Thanks a million, Catherine
Hi,
I could use some help about my 5 week old son. I have 3 children total and my oldest had no food allergies, my second had soy and dairy intolerance which she outgrew by 11 months old but still suffers red eczema on her cheeks from what I think is citric acid in fruits.
My newest baby, the 5 week old boy, got a pimply rash on his face at 2 weeks old just like my dairy/soy allergic daughter did and had tons of explosive watery mucousy looking poops. My daughter however had the opposite, was severely constipated and gassy by dairy with facial rash too. I eliminated dairy and soy at 2 weeks old as I did with my daughter and he seemed some better. Less fussy, less poops, more solid looking poops and face rash cleared up quickly. I am breastfeeding him and if I run short he gets some Nutramigen AA which is amino acid and totally casein free (although full of corn syrup
However he seems to be regressing and is fussy again sporadically with very painful gas and rigid tummy. He becomes rigid and passing gas and crying while nursing repeatedly. The large poops which are like soup and dark yellow/light brown are coming back sometimes. All I eat is fresh meats and chicken, fresh vegetables and a few fruits, oatmeal and scrambled egg sometimes, I also eat some rice milk bars coated in dark chocolate with chopped peanuts on them. I am positive there is no casein or whey or any dairy in my diet and no soy either.
Could this be a corn or peanut allergy?? Oddly, we have no real family history of food allergies other than my nephew who was dairy intolerant and outgrew it at 6 months old. My ped knows less than I do bc I am fairly well researched at this point and allergist said they wouldn’t see such a young baby and I am at a loss. I would like to breastfeed a couple more months at least and the Nutramigen AA seems to make him spit up a bit more. My daughter had a complete resolution of her symptoms once I gave up dairy and soy and did very well on the Nutramigen AA at 3 months old. Am getting desperate and need advice. He seems to have real gastro distress of some sort but is gaining weight and sleeping well at night mostly..Thanks, Catherine
Hi,
I posted previously… my son had dairy, gluten, soy and corn allergy. I was breast feeding at the time and I know how frustrating it is. So, my sympathies! My son could not tolerate ANY formula, because even the hypo allergenic ones have corn syrup solids in them. And the allimentum redimix one had milk or soy in it. It got to the point where it even seemed like he could not tolerate my milk when I had eaten meat. I am guessing it was because most of the meat we eat has been fed a high corn diet. I have read on line about some severe sensitivities where people could not tolerate the meat of animals that had a corn diet. ANYways, we found out my son was able to tolerate kefir goat milk, and we used the recipe from the westin a price website, leaving out the acerola powder – because it has corn in it, and also the bifidobacterium because it had a milk base. And for us, the difference was like night and day. On a side note, my son was unable to tolerate just regular goat milk, but does great on the kefir goat milk. Kefir is pretty tart, but he likes a blueberry pomegranite one from redwood hills farms. It’s expensive, but was so worth it to us. Good luck with your little ones!
Dear Caryn,
i have a 3 years old son who was diagnosed with milk, egg, fish allergies and has G6PD as well which means no soy, beans, etc…
This was since he was 1 year old and i did IGE tests and they were positive. He loves to drink milk so i have been giving him Similac advance HA.
The problem is that this formula is for new born babies, he still drinks it but i need a better formula providing calcium and proteins for him.
Any idea what can i use?
Thank you
Dalia
Thank you so much for all the information I have read. Our daughter was first diagnosed with milk allergy when we had to supplement her while I was breastfeeding. She had severe stomach pains and would go days without having a bowel movement. We switched several different formulas until our DR put her on Nutramigen. It completely changed her gassiness and bowel movement problem. At about 6 months old she started to develop an eczema problem, pulls her ear alot, sneezes, and went from being a great sleeper to a horrible sleeper. We were given steroid creams for the eczema which helps until she has another flare up. She seems unhappy alot and scratches all the time. I have been going crazy trying to make sure she doesn’t eat anything with milk, whey, or soy in it such as Gerber puffs, crackers, or stage 3 foods. Nothing seems to help with the exzema or her fussiness.
Yesterday, we finally took her to an allergy specialist to be tested. When the results of her skin test came back…guess what…not allergic to cows milk at all!!! She is allergic to soy, corn, and egg. When I got home, I started to go thru all of her formulas, baby food, snacks, and juice drinks. Almost everything has corn starch or corn syrup in it. And her Nutramigen has corn syrup (45%), corn starch (7%) and soy in it. I looked at the back of all the other cans of formula we have that we had tried and they all have corn syrup in them. I am definately going to look into the Alimentum that you suggested or just switching to organic whole milk since she will be one year old next week.
You truly don’t realize how many things contain some compound of corn until you start doing some research. Thanks so much for your advice and suggestions. I will be letting you know how my daughter does once we remove all corn products from her diet.
Thanks again!
Haley,
Keep a careful watch on bath products and lotions, too. We never had success with lotions at all when our son was an infant. We also switched to hypo-allergenic detergents. Good luck and let us know how things go.
My son is almost 11 months and has been diagnosed as having reflux, a stomach that empties very slow and a cow’s milk allergy. He has always thrown up since about 1 month old. He is on a soy formula and meds and his throwing up has gotten better. I started to switch him over to whole milk this week and he started to develop a really bad bum rash with raised red bumps. I had previously tried him on yogurt and he had no reaction, so we thought (including his ped) that he outgrew the cow’s milk allergy.
I am wondering if he does have an allergy to it?? Or maybe from all of the posts before, that he might have a corn allergy? I have tried him on eggs and he has been fine as well. It really started to get bad when I put him on homo milk this week.
Any suggestions???
Hi,
My son is 4 months old and has been VERY fussy and he would only have a BM once a week. So i took him to our chiropractor who does reflexology testing and said he was allergic to corn and dairy. So I stopped eating everything with corn and dairy because I’m breastfeeding. I recently took him to a food allergy specialist and he did the scratch test and there was tiny little welts for corn and dairy. Since I’ve stopped eating the corn and dairy he has been doing much better. But lately hasn’t been doing that good. He wakes up every hour at night and cries all day long and screams when i put him down. I’m not sure what is going on and its really hard. I wanted to start him on formula but i don’t know of any kind i can that doesn’t have corn and dairy in it. I think he is just not getting enough to eat from me or really i’m not sure what is going on and its very stressful!! any help would be great!
Thanks
Hi Jena!
I hope you and your little guy are hanging in there alright! How long have you been corn and dairy free? Dairy takes about 10 days to clear. Corn is harder to figure out for many reasons. Personally, I think corn is hard to digest period– for everyone. If your son doesn’t have a physical reaction to his lotions and ointments (like a bloody rash) then his allergy may not be so severe. I could be wrong. Just my mommy experience with it.
Corn is very tough to remove from the diet. It is a hidden ingredient in over 80% of our processed foods and also in most hygiene products. It has many byproduct names that you need to get familiar with to insure that you’ve removed it fully from your diet and environment. (For example, most baby soaps, lotions, and ointments have corn derivatives.) If your main complaint is fussiness and infrequent movements (and you don’t have skin issues) then your son’s intolerance may not be so severe. Infrequent movements are not always the sign of digestive problems in a baby that is solely fed mother’s milk. What are they like? Green and watery? Orangy? Do they have little ’seeds’ in them? The quality of his movement is also important.
Is he also teething early? My little guy was fussy at 3 mos. I was going crazy trying to figure it out. then when he was 4 mos he sprouted 4 teeth! Everyone said it was impossible that a baby that young would be teething but his smile three weeks later proved them all wrong. If he is drooling a lot, if his gums are red and you can see the white slits of teeth just under the skin, its possible that this is causing his distress.
My mommy hunch is that your baby is going through a growth spurt right now. I would suggest you eat more yourself and take a ‘nursing holiday’ with him. Plan to just stay in your pajamas for a few days and nurse every hour or so. Drink a 4-6 oz glass of water with each session (whatever you can manage). This will build up your supply. When you are nervous or anxious or when you don’t drink enough liquids you tend to produce less milk. This has happened to me. My third little guy had a lazy suck and I found myself pumping daily to keep up my supply. If he had been my first I might have quit on him. But I had had two good nursing experiences before and knew I could do it. All my babies went through growth spurts where they required more nursing sessions at certain stages of development.
You mention that you want to start formula. Formula is loaded with corn products. The only one that isn’t in the states is Alimentum Ready to Feed in a can and it is hard to find and fairly expensive. Some of the moms here have made their own homemade formulas with either goat or cow’s milk. There isn’t a soy formula out there that is also corn free. Besides, soy formula has been known to cause hormonal problems in adulthood. It is loaded with estrogen and that is very bad for baby boys.
Hang in there. Try doing a nursing holiday. Get in touch with the La Leche league too for more advice. They have groups nationwide. I used them with my youngest little guy and they were such a valuable resource (he was put on soy formula by our doctor at two weeks of age and had such a violent allergic reaction that he began having bloody stools) so I had to relatch him and relactate myself at three weeks of age. It was a NIGHTMARE. I successfully nursed him for 10 months after that with the help of a La Leche League representative who volunteered at my local hospital. She taught me techniques to help retrain him to suckle and she also helped me set up a pumping routine that would work for us.
This article was VERY HELPFUL! (I just wish I found it sooner.) When my son changed from breastmilk to formula, he immediatly broke out-eventually from head-to-toe. The doctor changed his formula several times and prescribed lotions and cremes to relieve the eczema.
I read your article on Thursday and started him on a formula with no corn (Good Start Natural Cultures). He had a well-visit on Friday and he already looked better. The doctor read your article and believes it is the solution to our problem. Our next step was allergy testing, but it looks like we won’t be doing that. His skin is clearing up very quickly. I truly believe he is allergic to corn.
I looked at the ingredients on all of the formula that we have tried until now. Each one has a different level of corn. We thought he improved on some of the formulas, but did not clear up. I believe it was because one would have less corn in it than others.
I cannot thank you enough. My son seems to be more comfortable. He has stopped scratching, etc and his skin is looking better everyday. Thank you so much for sharing this information! Good luck to all of the moms searching for answers!
Hi there,
My 15 month old daughter is allergic to salicyclates I discovered thanks to posting here. I had thought it was citric acid previously. Her cheeks get cherry red and badly chapped if she ingests any apple, pear, juice, squash, basically anything except banana, green grapes, dairy products, green beans and peas, ritz peanut butter crackers and small amounts of carrot. She is eating solids and is very finicky already about what she will eat. She was allergic to dairy and soy til she was 11 months old and began to tolerate cheese and yogurt. I am having a tough time finding things for her to eat. She either rejects new items or has this bad reaction on her face to them. What can I feed this child? I am worried about her nutrition as she eats only this handful of items…Any advice?
I would be afraid ingest raw liver as an adult!
There are parasites that live in livers, only cooking kills them.
Why raw?!? Any raw meat organic or not can have parasites!!!
COOK the liver, it will still retain vitamins.
Hello, Caryn. I have appreciated reading through the conversations above. My son is 3 months old and has a case of eczema that is moderately bad and seems to be getting worse. I have been proceeding on the assumption that it could be a dairy allergy (seems pretty common), and so we have had him on a powdered goat milk formula, and then on Nutramigen Lipil. We haven’t gone the whole route to Nutramigen AA yet. I’ve tried leaving dairy out of my own diet, since I also breastfeed him. So far, no success. At the moment he’s on Nestle Good Start, because it is whey based with no casein.
Aside from wondering if you have any general advice about how to proceed, the more specific question I have is this: in your experience, when someone has an allergy to cow’s milk, can they sometimes–or even often–tolerate raw milk better than pasteurized/homogenized (which is all we’ve tried, to date).
Claire
Hi Caryn,
Thanks for the helpful article. I went through exactly everything that is described and much of what many other mothers posted above. My daughter ended up on Alimentum RTF and did well with it. But after she turned a year and I still hadn’t “officially” discovered what the issue was, (even though I had “self diagnosed” her with a corn allergy because, well, it was just OBVIOUS), I finally decided to have her “tested” (skin prick test) at a pediatric allergy specialists. The results? The baby was allergic to NOTHING. And yet she still has these severe reactions to anything with corn (the higher the concentration of corn the worse the reaction) and to a few other foods (such as red grapes). The “allergy specialist” told me that even tho she’s “not allergic” to corn or any other food (she was tested for the top 20), that she could still have an “intolerance” and that I needed to go see a Gastro specialist. It’s hard to find food to feed her, because she’s picky to begin with, and then add in the fact that EVERYTHING has corn in it. She’s 18months now and we still have the massive reactions, terrible acidic smelly poops, burning her bottom even if only touching her for a second, and the worst part of it is hearing her blood curdling painful screaming cries. Any ideas would be helpful.
Thanks — Ramsey & Baby Jaylen
I am long past puberty (long) and developed milk allergy more than a year ago, this fall also soy allergy and the allergic reaction escalated from being a simple rash/hives, to full blown hives all over the face needing a full 7 days to become almost invisible and 14 days to disappear (along with, of course, diarrhea and immense stomach bloating lasting up to 48 hours).
Why did it take so long to find out? Because I never had allergies in my entire life, I virtually do not get sick. When it first happened, for an entire year I told myself that this is an allergic reaction to shampoo and I did not care too much about it because it was restricted to the area on the sides of my neck below the ears and never hurt.
Now, my skin around the eyes and on the cheek turns brown-red with a soy reaction, and flakes off pieces of skin with a milk reaction. I cannot find any information on the progress of these allergic reactions. it seems to escalate from here to nowhere. When I had stomach pain for months, I eliminated quite literally every food I eat one after the other. I never suspected milk. I found the soy allergy only after I had eliminated milk and substituted it with soy milk and one night went on for double-espresso with soy cream………
my soy allergy is what I consider a bit pervert. I double-checked/verified both allergies at least three times, intently eating the forbidden substance after I had fully recovered from an earlier reaction. this was the only way to learn that in a heavy reaction my nose cracks and bleeds and won’t heal for – yet another week. I used to think that this is a result of extremely cold weather, just like the brown-red skin colour.
What I am trying to say is that any allergy can look a bit different with other individuals. and that, unfortunately, one has to go through the painful process of elimination of categories of foods before one can be sure. i do not know how one can do that with a baby in pain, because it is already so incredibly unpleasant for an adult to live with (consider that my milk allergic reaction now takes an entire 7 days to be really over, 2 days of which I have problems concentrating, it just takes the energy out).
i read that with babies both forms of allergy can disappear. mine just seems to get worse and I am already afraid of the next stage. is there anyone out there , any adult, who has the same experience? can it disappear in adults if one has both forms of allergies? i am really more interested in feedback by fellow sufferers, not in advises by doctors.
I have a 9 mo old who was said to have MSPI at 5 months. She has been on Elecare since but still spits-up. Yesterday my parents gave her several glasses of whole cow’s milk and she has her 1st puke free day EVER! We tried all commercial formulas before Elecare and she always puked. She had a negative IgE skin test to milk, soy, corn, & wheat. So we are debating switching her to cow’s milk. She is only 17 pounds and 29 inches long. She eats all kinds of foods even ones with milk and has done fine. Any suggestions. Also should we do a vitamin with or without iron?
Thanks
Just quickly, Last time I was in Whole Foods I saw the brand “Earth’s Best” formula. I *believe* it is corn free but I think I remember reading that it has soy in it. Allimentum Ready to Feed in the Cans is corn free, I was told. I am not sure about the soy content in it. The Weston A. Price Foundation has homemade formula recipes and so does Dr. Sears. We never did homemade formula because for us the issue wasn’t known until our son was much older and weaned. Unfortunately he suffered with his allergies until he was 4 yrs old.
You can get some lab tests without a prescription. Great Plains requires a doctor’s script. We had a hard time getting our ped to run the IgG allergy tests too. Grrr. Our chiropractor ended up writing the script for us. It was the single most vital thing we did for our son. It changed his life for the better in so many ways. Now we don’t have to run to the doctor every month due to illness. As a matter of fact our son went an entire school year without getting sick once.
Thank you so much. I appreciate the info. I will take a look at the formulas below. We’ve been having a hard time finding one that is Dairy / Corn / Soy / Gluten free…. He did do really well with the keffir goat milk yesterday. So, thank you for the suggestion!
We are thankful for big and small miracles these days…. even goat milk ones! ; ) I think I am going to try the goat milk formula on Westin A Price. The nutritionist said adding the neocate to the breast milk would bring it up to approx 24 – 26 calories per oz. And the keffir goat milk is already 27 cal / per oz. Have you heard of any B-12 supplements for babies? I don’t think I am comfortable adding the raw chicken liver that has been frozen for 14 days to it….. Plus my little boy has been acting fussy when I eat even plain pork or sometimes chicken… maybe because of their corn diet? Not sure.
So I think I would have to do a supplement for him. I feel a little weird asking the doctor for a b-12 supplement because we might try him on a home made goat milk formula.